HB base leg heights???

[ken]

I have some humbucker baseplates in front of me.

Some of these have short legs to attach the pickup springs and screws to, while
some of the others have legs twice as long. Why? Is this important?

Thank you,
Ken

[WolfeMacleod]

1/2 inch tall legs are vintage style.
1/4 inch legs are typically used when a pickup is screwed directly into the body.

[SK66]

Also on some guitars shorter legs are needed at the neck position due to height of strings above body (usually neck thru designs)

[Zhangliqun]

1/2 inch tall legs are vintage style.
1/4 inch legs are typically used when a pickup is screwed directly into the body.

The 1/4-inch legs also seem to work better in Strats or other guitars because the leg routes are sometimes too shallow to hold the 1/2-inchers.

Another advantage I've found is to use the short leg baseplates on the neck pu of a set because in guitars with an angled neck (like the LP), the neck pu sits deeper in the guitar so there's less tension on the springs with 1/2-inch legs. 1/4-inch legs give a little extra tension so the neck pu is less likely to be loose and rock back and forth. EDIT: Which I guess was more or less what SK66 was saying...